Question about Casey and Pictures!

[MammaKim]

Hi there! So, we have added a U2 to our family. She was born in 1990 and really needed a stable home. I have had losts of exposure to Toos, but never actually had one in my home. LOL! And the toos I have been around are SC's, not U2's. Casey is definitely more loving than the Sulfers I have been around! Although they were very friendly, Casey is stare in your eyes and fall in love with me loving. She has a couple of quirks that I am looking for advice on.

She does not come out of her cage easy! She has not bitten or anything like that, but when I go to get her she gives the bars a death grip with her feet and beak! When I have had to force her out (such as the trip to the vet) it is a 2 person job of releasing her feet, holding a thumb over her feet once you get them on your hand (which she is STRONG and sometimes gets away - plus I have a fear of hurting her....) and waiting until she lets go with her beak. I do not want her to fear getting taken out, so this is a last resort. When she sees us come towards her cage, she grabs the sides, and when you put your hand in she will put her head down for lovin, but if you move off her head she regrabs the bars with her feet. We say "step up" to her continually to try and get her to learn. We do step up on the couch and put our fingers under her feet, rub her chest, try step down and try to get her to step backwards to our hand or arm. She just wont. If I leave her cage open, she comes out on her own and gets on top of her paly area. When she decides she wants to be on me she jumps off, walks over and jumps right on me. We have had her about 3 weeks, so I know she is adjusting still, but she does not in anyway seem apprehensive about us. I got her a new cage as her old one was well used, and battered. Her old cage did not have a bottom grate, and she would get on the bottom and kinda hunker down into a roosting looking position and then you could scoop her up with no problem. The downfall to that cage was of course, that she walked through her poop and would get it on her feet and feathers. I believe that must be how her previous multiple owners got her out of the cage. I do not want her to have to be plucked from her cage - but I need her to come out when I need to take her places or take her cage out to be washed, etc. Any ideas?

She shreds and destroys her tail feathers. She reaches back with her feet (one at a time - lol) and gets her feathers under her feet and stands on them bent up under her feet. Then she acts like its a game and starts pulling them through her feet usually while chattering. When I catch her I try and redirect her by giving her paper to shred or throw, which is her favorite thing to do, or asking for kisses, cause she can not resist that...but I feel like I am rewarding her for shredding her feathers and I do not want her to think that either.

She had a pretty good sized sore on her chest and a few destroyed feathers around it. The vet gave me a cream and the sore is just about healed. The only time I see her itch it is if has dried, and it is probably itchy. I just put more cream on it and she leaves it. Now it is closed and very small...But I do not know why she did that to herself. Any thoughts?

I am amazed at her gentle nature and adaptive personality. Given the facts that her previous owners told me she was 3 or 4, that they had had her for only 4 months and before them they previous owner had her 3 - 4 years (since she was a baby per the last owner!), that she was on cockatiel seed for her diet and her cage was a mess, not clean even though they had cleaned it, very few toys - even with all that, she must have - at one time -been loved, or she just really needs love and knows she will get it here. She has been to the vet (the next day after coming here) and all her bloodwork was good - her weight was 510 grams (I think she feels skinny, but he said she is perfect). She has had a couple showers - she was covered in smoke stain which clings to feathers like it does to walls - and she loves them!

Thanks for any advice, tips, etc! I was very blessed to be buying a cockatiel for a friend only to find out she was an Umbrella! Casey will never have to move again, unless we all move, or she gets her own room...

The night we got home!





Dancing with Jen - Day 2!



I was not feeling well and my friend made me chicken soup...Please ignore my stained hot pot holder! Its one of my faves and not very photogenic!



Before her shower.



Her first shower!

[kellywess]

Theres not a whole lot of chicken under those feathers once they get wet huh? So cute. I love the one of her eating chicken soup. I will leave the advice for the Too Experts... but very nice pictures.

[SallyQZ]

Awwww, she's gorgeous! And lucky to have ended up with you - I loved your pics. Sorry I haven't got any expert advice to give you, but I would try giving her treats in her cage. Find something that she REALLY likes, then when she clamps down on the cage offer her the treat so that she has to let go and move a few inches to get it. Don't ask her to step up or leave the cage - just ask for a step or two in the right direction then leave her alone with her treat.

Good luck and congrats on your new baby!

[nanmadpad]

i agree she should be able to leave the cage on her own. Open the door and offer a treat, if she doesnt come out put the treat in her bowl and walk away leaving the door open. If theres no pressure on her to come out she will eventually come out on her own. Once she does then you can practice step ups. I owned a u2 and there very smart, loving and willing to please. She just needs more time to adjust to you. I actually thought my umrella learned quicker then my grey. Good luck and you will love owning a love sponge.

[MammaKim]

Thanks! I think she will get it and step up - she loves being held way too much! I have to believe that in the beginning of her 19+ years, that she had a family that really did care for her and take proper care of her. I think that lately she was loved on whatever level that an environment such as the one she came from can love.

[Monica]

She does not come out of her cage easy! She has not bitten or anything like that, but when I go to get her she gives the bars a death grip with her feet and beak!

You might be interested in getting the November issue of Bird Talk. It's got some decent articles. Also, look into clicker training. Nammadpad's got the right idea.

It's possible that she never learned how to be taken out of the cage without issues, or perhaps she was never forced out before. Of course, it's possible she's not yet up to that comfortableness yet, or perhaps she thinks she can get away with things.

You can try some easy steps to try and get her out of her cage. This includes putting a perch and treat cup on the door, offering her the treat (in the dish) before you open the door, then when she goes to get the treat, open the door. If she's willing to step up from here, offer her another treat.

Put said perch and cup on the outside of the cage, so she has to climb out to get to the treat.

Put a gym right next to the cage so she has to climb to the gym to get the treat. Be sure to always show her the treat.

We say "step up" to her continually to try and get her to learn. We do step up on the couch and put our fingers under her feet, rub her chest, try step down and try to get her to step backwards to our hand or arm.

If you don't have to, don't force her to do anything. But, train her to do so. If she steps up willingly, offer her a treat. Don't push her. The idea is to try and get her to understand that if *SHE* does "X" behavior on her own, she gets a reward. Once it "clicks" in her head, things go easier from there.

If I leave her cage open, she comes out on her own and gets on top of her paly area. When she decides she wants to be on me she jumps off, walks over and jumps right on me.

Whenever she goes to you, reward her. However, be careful because you don't want her to become so dependent on you that she wants to be with you all the time. You need to reward her for also doing things on her own.

She shreds and destroys her tail feathers. She reaches back with her feet (one at a time - lol) and gets her feathers under her feet and stands on them bent up under her feet. Then she acts like its a game and starts pulling them through her feet usually while chattering. When I catch her I try and redirect her by giving her paper to shred or throw, which is her favorite thing to do, or asking for kisses, cause she can not resist that...but I feel like I am rewarding her for shredding her feathers and I do not want her to think that either.

You may very well be rewarding her for the behavior. She probably finds doing the behavior rewarding in itself. It can be a form of masturbation, as well as pure entertainment.

There are a few ways you can try and change the behavior... I'll mention two. One, make sure she has plenty of ways to entertain herself, such as foraging, destroying toys, bathing, fresh safe branches to destroy, etc. Two, teach her an incompatible behavior - such as waving with her feet. If she is waving with her feet, or giving a "high four" then she'll have a much harder time standing on her tail feathers.


Check out some of the links below! (sorry if any are dead)

Foraging toys can be bought
Forage Toys for Parrots

Articles on foraging...
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
Foraging for Parrots
Parrot Enrichment
Foraging Ahead
Easy Foraging Ideas
Kibibi's InfoSuperFlyway - Top Ten Favorite Parrot Foraging Toys

Below are some ideas for toys and toy making supplies!
Foraging toys can be bought
Forage Toys for Parrots

Articles on foraging...
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
Foraging for Parrots
Parrot Enrichment
Foraging Ahead
Easy Foraging Ideas
Kibibi's InfoSuperFlyway - Top Ten Favorite Parrot Foraging Toys

Below are some ideas for toys and toy making supplies!
Parrot Enrichment
Cheep Parrot Toys N Tips
Bird Toy Outlet
Birdy Boredom Busters
Birds Just Wanna Have Fun
Twin Leather Company
For the Love of Birds - For Birds Sake Toys
Nalani Toys
Parrotdise Perch
Talon Treasures
California Bird Nerds--Simple Joys and Safer Bird Toys
Cheep Parrot Toys N Tips
Bird Toy Outlet
Birdy Boredom Busters
Birds Just Wanna Have Fun
Twin Leather Company
For the Love of Birds - For Birds Sake Toys
Nalani Toys
Parrotdise Perch
Talon Treasures
California Bird Nerds--Simple Joys and Safer Bird Toys

She had a pretty good sized sore on her chest and a few destroyed feathers around it. The vet gave me a cream and the sore is just about healed. The only time I see her itch it is if has dried, and it is probably itchy. I just put more cream on it and she leaves it. Now it is closed and very small...But I do not know why she did that to herself. Any thoughts?

Hard to say without knowing her history. She could have done it due to boredom, nutritional reasons, environment factors, or even health reasons. It's good to rule out medical problems.




There's a lot of clicker training information out there. A good first book to read is "Don't Shoot The Dog" by Karen Pryor because it gives you the basics, the why's and all the understanding! And there are plenty of trick training books out there on the market as well specifically for birds! Clicker training really isn't about teaching birds something "cool" but, as I see it, a better way to communicate to birds what we want, and in turn, they learn how to better communicate with us!

[MammaKim]

Wow Monica - Thank you so much! I had not even thought of any type of sexual pleasure with her tail feathers....Hmmmm...another hormonal bird! LOL!

I did take her to the vet the day after I got her. (I picked her up after 9 at night...) They ran a full panel on her - the 200$ testing! All her blood work was good, the vet said she looked good and he loved her temperment. My vet was letting her bite his tongue, climb all over him and his staff, etc. She is a scab picker - if she sees a scab or a spot on a person, she picks it! I laughed when the vet stuck out his tongue and she tried to pick off taste buds. I thought she was gonna pierce his tongue for him.

I will get Nov. birdtalk. The vet sold me a magazine, but it was not birdtalk...this one is quarterly, but I dont remember what it is called.

I am relatively sure she was plucked out of her cage in her most recent home. They told me they "lifted" out of the cage and sometimes it was difficult. I have been doing the treat thing, but she just stretches for it and wont lift her foot to even use my arm as support. I will try putting a treat cup on her door. That is a fantastic thought!

I have not found anything to reward her with yet, unless of course it is what we are eating. She is a great eater, but I can not yet tell what her favorite food is - well, she went crazy when she smelled my husband's icecream! She was like a kid in a candy store trying to get it! She was hysterical. Of course, that can not be her motivation...LOL! She does not like nuts or seeds really - she loves purple though - maybe I will look for something purple!

I have her toys hanging from the top, fastened on the sides and low on the bottom. So far, she is not destroying any. In her old cage, there was not a grate on the bottom and she would shred the paper. I did put paper on her playtop tray and she LOVES to pull that up and throw it. I did not want to give her paper in her cage since she is a female, I did not want her to think it was for nesting. I have given her toilet paper rolls and she does love those.

I am off to check out all those links. Thank you again, so much!

Oh, her sore....she *may* have been exposed to smoke that was not THC or nicotine. I dont know what kind of damage that would have caused her, I am sure she has been to places no human or bird should go...I wonder if in a different mental state she might have done this...I am sure her nutrition was not what she is getting here. I am impressed with her willingness to eat all the good stuff I give her! And she switched so easy onto Zupreem. I know there is some controversy over Zupreem, but it is all Lucy will eat, and I had it as well as Harrisons. She throws the Harrisons out...

Thanks again!

[LovelySydney]

Oh I absolutely LOVE those pictures! Looks like she is utterly LOVING her new home, Im so happy for you and your family and your new little one = )

[silvercb67]

She is GORGEOUS! Best Wishes to you both.

[Greycloud]

Monica gave some great info. I have a rehomed U2 also. For the first several months he went through the no stepping up game to come out and would hold the bars. We have never forsed him to come out. I understand that he had a vet visit and also emergencies arise. For scheduled appointments just start much early on getting her out of her cage. Plan ahead. For emergencies you do what ya gotta to get them out.
Never force a bird to do something it is not ready to do. It will destroy all trust you have worked up building between the two of you. I would open the cage and let him come out on his own, then treat right away. Then work on the stepup response and treat right away. A treat for some birds does not always have to be food. It can be a kiss or snuggle or bouncing your arm so they can dance. Make it fun. Eventually the bird will learn that Hey it's fun to be on mom or dad. I do want to say that your vet should never have aloud Casey to beak his tongue. The human mouth carries all kinds of bacteria. Also seeing him wet he does look alittle thin. I'm not a vet but I just wanted to give you my impression due to my experience.